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Zimbabwe's premier calls foreign tour 'successful'

Associated Press

By
ANGELA CHARLTON - 3 hours ago

PARIS (AP) - Zimbabwe's Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai called his tour of Europe and the United States a success
Thursday, though he won few commitments of aid amid new U.N. warnings of
food shortages in his country.

Officials in France, Tsvangirai's last
stop on a nearly three-week tour, offered political support but said any new
aid would focus on non-governmental organizations and not go directly to the
power-sharing government.

Many Western nations want authoritarian
President Robert Mugabe to step down and are reluctant to offer Zimbabwe
major aid or donate money directly to the government.

"Why are the
funds going to NGOs and not the government? ... To us that is neither here
nor there," Tsvangirai told reporters in Paris. "The funds that are being
given are going to Zimbabweans."

Tsvangirai said he was "not disappointed
at all" in the limited aid commitments, insisting that his visits to foreign
capitals were aimed at building a "new foreign policy
relationship."

"If our objective was to re-engage, it's very successful,"
he said.

Zimbabwe has had the highest inflation rate in the world,
thousands of people have died during a major cholera outbreak, and much of
the population lacks food. Many blame Mugabe but have been increasingly
critical of Tsvangirai, saying his government isn't moving fast enough to
end his country's economic and humanitarian crisis.

France's junior
minister for cooperation, Alain Joyandet, said after meeting Tsvangirai that
specifics of French aid would be discussed later Thursday.

"France is
beside and supports the unity government," Joyandet said. While aid is
currently focused on charity groups, he said, "things could be progressive"
toward direct government aid.

Tsvangirai met Thursday with French Foreign
Minister Bernard Kouchner and was to meet later with Prime Minister Francois
Fillon. He will meet Friday with Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, a group
of leading French executives and the director of the French Development
Agency.

When Tsvangirai visited Britain this week, Prime Minister Gordon
Brown pledged 5 million pounds ($8.2 million) in new aid for food projects
and textbooks. Britain said aid would be distributed by
charities.

Two U.N. food agencies said Thursday that Zimbabwe is still
threatened by food shortages despite improved agricultural production and
more liberal imports this year. The Rome-based Food and Agriculture
Organization and the World Food Program said in a joint report that about
2.8 million people will face food shortages this year, as the total cereal
availability reaches 1.4 million tons against a projected need of 2.1
million tons.

Tsvangirai launched the tour saying he wasn't carrying a
begging bowl but wanted to mend his nation's relations with Western leaders,
who accuse Mugabe of trampling on democracy and ruining a once-vibrant
economy.

In London, angry protesters shouted him off stage when he
appealed to exiles to return to the battered African nation. In Washington,
President Barack Obama made clear he's not convinced Tsvangirai can turn the
country around in partnership with Mugabe. The European Union told
Tsvangirai it wants to see improvements in human rights before restoring
aid.

France open
to cancelling Zimbabwe debt

PARIS, June 25 - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on
Thursday France was open to discussions with Zimbabwe about cancelling the
African country's Paris Club debt.

Speaking after meeting Zimbabwean
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Fillon said if Zimbabwe gave guarantees
that it would spend the savings on development projects and if democracy
took root in Zimbabwe then France would consider a write-off.

"I
indicated that France was prepared to renegotiate Zimbabwe's debt in the
framework of the Paris Club but with a specific offer from France which
would involve converting that aid (savings from a debt write off) into
development projects," Fillon said at a press conference with
Tsvangirai.

But he said discussions with Zimbabwe on both debt and aid
could take a while and Thursday's meeting only marked the start of a
discussion.

A French government official said the amount owed by Zimbabwe
to France in Paris Club debt was around 400 million euros.

France
gave Zimbabwe around 6 million euros in aid last year and 3 million euros so
far this year and plans to continue at the same pace. The money is directed
towards food aid and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The official said that
the debt discussion would take years and that it would be conducted in
consultation with other Paris Club creditor nations. Progress would very
much depend on democracy taking hold in Zimbabwe and economic reforms being
implemented, the official said.

France is Zimbabwe's second biggest
sovereign creditor.

Tsvangirai was in Paris on the last stop of a tour to
Europe and the United States to raise cash from donors. Zimbabwe says it
needs $10 billion to rebuild its shattered economy.

Tsvangirai joined
a unity government with rival Mugabe in February to end a political and
economic crisis. Mugabe has ruled the southern African country since
independence from Britain in 1980 and critics say he has ruined a once
prosperous nation.

Zimbabwe must
respect human rights, France tells Tsvangirai

PARIS (AFP) - French
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on Thursday reminded Zimbabwe's Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of the need to respect human rights and to have a
free media in the shattered African state.

"The international community
remains concerned about the rule of law in Zimbabwe" and about the areas of
security, media freedom and respect for private property, Kouchner told the
visiting prime minister.

Tsvangirai was in Paris on the latest leg of a
tour that has taken him to London, Washington, Berlin, Stockholm and
Brussels to try to drum up support for the "new" Zimbabwe.

Amnesty
International said this week that Zimbabwe was suffering "persistent and
serious" human rights violations despite the new unity government featuring
Tsvangirai and his one-time bitter enemy President Robert
Mugabe.

Tsvangirai told Kouchner during their meeting at an official
lunch here that "Zimbabwe is changing."

"After four months we have
peace and stability. There is progress and I would be the last one to say
everything is rosy. The concern you have is accepted, is a legitimate
concern. The media are going to reopen," he said.

Tsvangirai and Mugabe
on February 11 formed a power-sharing government tasked with steering
Zimbabwe back to stability after disputed elections last year plunged the
impoverished country even deeper into crisis.

With the shattered economy
just turning a corner, Tsvangirai embarked on his tour of foreign capitals
looking for aid to help Zimbabwe emerge from years of chaos that saw rampant
inflation and forced many Zimbabweans to flee.

Mugabe lambasts
western 'imperialists' over sanctions

HARARE (AFP) - Zimbabwe President
Robert Mugabe on Thursday castigated western countries for refusing to lift
sanctions against him and his inner circle until the country's unity
government introduced tangible reforms.

"'We will not lift sanctions',
they say, and 'we will not give money except the little pieces of silver for
cholera and humanitarian assistance,'" Mugabe told members of his party's
consultative assembly in the capital.

Mugabe's statements came as Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai wound up a three-week tour to Europe and the
United States where leaders pledged support but urged greater
reform.

"'As long as that man is still there, as long as Mugabe is still
there, you will not get that money from us, you Tsvangirai,'" Mugabe said,
mimicking Western leaders during a speech broadcast on state
television.

"Who are they to tell us you do this and that, reform this
and that? We don't tell them what they should do in their own countries," he
said.

Both the European Union and the United States maintain a travel ban
and asset freeze on Mugabe, his wife and inner circle in protest at
controversial elections and alleged human rights abuses by his
government.

The 85-year-old leader said "imperialists can never be
friends" and that the former British colony should instead look to the help
of fellow African and developing countries who offered assistance without
conditions.

"Only a dead imperialist is a good one. We are Africans, our
friends are those of the African community, of the African continent, of the
Non-Aligned Movement, of the Third World, those we think like us, those who
when they assist you will not lay down conditions," he said.

"Leave
those racists and imperialists in their own world."

Mugabe formed a
power-sharing government with Tsvangirai in February nearly a year after
disputed elections.

The government has appealed for 8.3 billion US
dollars to rebuild the shattered economy, but the assistance has so far come
in dribs and drabs.

State
concedes Mukoko's abduction was illegal

A state prosecutor on Thursday conceded that the way human rights
campaigner Jestina Mukoko was abducted by state security agents, was
illegal. The 53 year-old former news reader has taken her case to the
Supreme Court, seeking a permanent stay of her prosecution.A full bench
of the Supreme Court heard submissions from state prosecutor Fatima Maxwell
that they did not dispute Mukoko's evidence that she was abducted and held
incommunicado against her will, which also violated her human
rights.Asked by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku if she was conceding that
Mukoko's abduction and detention were illegal, Maxwell replied; 'Yes my
Lord.'Advocate Jeremy Gauntlet who was representing Mukoko along with lawyer
Beatrice Mtetwa, had told the court that Mukoko's rights had been grossly
violated, including by being denied medication and a lawyer, and by being
kept in solitary confinement. She had also been tortured.The state also
conceded they did not dispute Mukoko's evidence and had not questioned the
security agents who had abducted her. Asked by the bench if Mukoko
statements were accurate, Maxwell said the allegations as they stand, and if
proved, were a clear violation of the three rights in the constitution.
These are the right to liberty, the protection of the law and the right to
freedom from torture.The state however said the violations should not
prevent Mukoko from being prosecuted, but rather there should be a separate
inquiry to investigate the allegations. The court reserved judgment on the
matter indefinitely. Defence lawyer Alec Muchadehama explained that the
court will take its time to consider all the submissions from the state and
defence, before it delivers its judgement.'It can be a week, a month but
they will certainly deliver judgement,' Muchadehama said, adding that the
only way forward for the state now was to withdraw the case
altogether.'It's the only practical thing for them to do now. If we had a
proper Attorney General or a proper Minister of Justice, we would likely not
see the continuation of this case. Jestina must not be prosecuted. The state
should actually turn to people who abducted her and lay charges of acting
outside the law,' Muchadehama said.

Government finally retracts statements in compliance with High
Court order

The Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity
in a statement on 24 June 2009 said it had no intention of defying a
provisional High Court order granted in favour of four freelance journalists
but attributed delays in complying with the order in question to financial
constraints. (Pictured: Permanent Secretary George
Charamba)

This followed High Court judge Justice Bharat Patel's
provisional order on 5 June 2009 in favour of the challenge on the legality
of the defunct Media and Information Commission (MIC) lodged by four
journalists Stanley Gama, Valentine Maponga, Stanley Kwenda and Jealousy
Mawarire. In their urgent application the four journalists challenged the
legality of accrediting with the defunct MIC to cover the Common Market for
East and Southern Africa (COMESA) Summit which was underway in the resort
town of Victoria Falls as had been announced by the Ministry.

"We
refer to the court order that was granted by way of interim relief in a
provisional order on 5 June 2009 by his Lordship, Justice Bharat Patel, in
the case of Stanly Gama and 3 Others v Minister of Media Information and
Publicity and 3 Others, Case No. HC 2355/2009.

"In compliance with
the said court order, we unreservedly and unconditionally retract and
withdraw the contents of the said statement," reads part of the statement
issued by the responsible Minister Webster Shamu and his permanent secretary
George Charamba. "We also wish to apologise for the delay in issuing this
statement, which was in itself caused by a delay in receiving appropriate
legal advice."

On 5 June 2009 Justice Patel granted the interim relief
sought by the journalists and ordered that the Minister and his Permanent
Secretary George Charamba issue a retraction on statements published on 22,
23 and 24 May 2009 relating to matters of accreditation of journalists and
media houses by the MIC and that the applicants be allowed to cover the
Summit without having to produce accreditation cards. The ministry,
however, did not comply with the order until the issuance of its statement
on 24 June 2009.

Security agents barred the journalists from the summit
venue on 7 June 2009 insisting that the journalists despite the production
of the High Court order could not cover the event as they were not on the
Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity's list of journalists
accredited to cover the summit.

Zimbabweans Launch Process for New Constitution

Hundreds of
Zimbabweans from political parties, civil rights organizations, churches and
ordinary citizens gathered Wednesday for the first public hearings towards a
new constitution organized by the transitional four-month-old government of
national unity. There were mixed reactions when the multi-party steering
committee of legislators kicked off the process by explaining timelines and
the process to achieve a new constitution.

About 1,500 people gathered at
a Harare conference center and heard speakers from the majority Movement for
Democratic Change party, MDC, and the rival Zanu-PF party say that the
process will be people driven and that ordinary voices will be more
important than those of legislators in drawing up a new
constitution.

Kariba draft constitution

The only daily
newspaper, which is the pro Zanu-PF, the Herald, carried a supplement to
coincide with the first hearing. It contains a draft constitution written in
a hurry in 2007 and known as the Kariba draft constitution. Zanu-PF says
this draft is its constitution of preference and it retains enormous powers
for an executive president. It was the Kariba draft which President Robert
Mugabe, who belongs to the ZANU-PF party, refused to allow to be passed into
law ahead of last year's elections won by the MDC.

There was a jovial
and relaxed mood among many delegates, but important civil rights activists
boycotted the launch because they say the process is controlled by
politicians.

Lovemore Madhuku, who leads the National Constitutional
Assembly said that he will not be involved in constitution writing because
legislators, not the people, will drive the process.

"Legislators
said public hearings were being held in other centers around the country,
and that the process will take about a year to finalize before a draft
constitution will be tested by a referendum," said Madhuku.

Optimism
meets skepticism

Many of those attending the first public hearing were
hopeful and optimistic, others were skeptical.

Churchman, Reverend
Joseph Katife said it was a great day for him as the people would be
involved in producing a new constitution.

"It was good, because we have
the time to communicate with the constitution itself, to play a part in the
constitution," he said. "I am going to be part of writing that
constitution."

Wonder Muvandi, a former policeman from eastern Zimbabwe,
says that parliament will produce the constitution and not the people and
that the first hearing showed few Zimbabweans even understand what the word
constitution means.

"The way they are handling the whole process is
improper. They should have started off by educating the people first about
what the constitution is," said Muvandi. "People do not know what a
constitution is. The constitution making process is going to be very
chaotic, it's not going to be in line, and this will end up by parliament
itself, on its own will come up with a constitution for the
people."

Some fear political manipulation

The few hundred
remaining white farmers who survived Mr Mugabe's nine year campaign against
them say they have suffered more harrassment, invasions and arrest since the
establishment of the inclusive government.

Deon Theron, vice president of
the Commercial Farmers' Union, says he fears there will be political
manipulation of the constitution making process.

"What is going to be the
political influence on this whole thing, that is everyone's concern, they
keep saying it's going be people driven and the people will decide, but if
you look at the process at the back of your mind you can still see the
loopholes," Theron said. "Today we have got our first get together and
everyone is sitting with the Kariba draft in front of them because it was in
the papers today. Is that a coincidence? Of course it is not."

MDC
speakers received the most applause of all speakers at the first hearing,
but not all those who attended are politically aligned.

Take
part in the new constitution-making process

Please make sure you are
a part of the new constitution making process.

Provincial consultative
meetings for input into the agenda of and selection of delegates to the
First All-Stakeholders Conference are taking place around the country. 27th
June at 10 am - in Bulawayo, Lupane, Gweru, Masvingo and Gwanda . Venues are
being advertised in the press - The Chronicle listed the City Hall for
Bulawayo's venue.

Please spread the word to everyone.

This entry was posted by Sokwanele on Thursday, June 25th, 2009 at
1:41 pm

Government
urged to reveal truth about Chiadzwa diamond murders

The government has been urged to reveal the truth about the mass
murders at the Chiadzwa diamond fields, after an MDC minister this week
denied that any killings had taken place.There have been widespread
accounts from survivors and human rights groups about brutal killings and
severe rights abuses at the eastern Marange diamond fields, after the army
moved in last October to disperse thousands of illegal diamond hunters. But
Deputy Mining Minister Murisi Zwizwai told Wednesday's meeting of the
Kimberley Process - the international scheme to curb the sale of 'blood
diamonds' - that the situation in Marange had been brought under control and
that claims of mass killings were 'unsubstantiated reports'."Contrary to
allegations in the media, nobody was killed by security forces during an
operation at Marange, where about 30,000 people descended onto the alluvial
mining field," Zwizwai told the 200 delegates at the conference in
Namibia."These people comprised of cunning, die-hard illegal diamond
diggers," Zwizwai said. "This compelled government to conduct a special
operation to flush out the illegal diamond miners and to bring order and
sanity to the area."Members of the Kimberley Process have been meeting
in Namibia this week, as pressure continues to mount on the regional body to
effectively act on its mission to combat the trade in blood diamonds.
Zwizwai, representing Zimbabwe, denied that diamonds leaving the country
were 'blood diamonds', saying that such conflict diamonds "are used by rebel
movements or their allies to finance conflict aimed at undermining
legitimate governments.""There is no armed conflict in Zimbabwe," Zwizwai
said.The question over whether Zimbabwe's diamonds can be categorised as
'conflict diamonds' has previously been raised, as the gems are helping fund
a government rather than a rebel army. But the leading architect of the
Kimberley Process, Ian Smillie, said in an interview on Wednesday that
Zimbabwe's diamonds are indeed blood diamonds. He said; "They have blood all
over them." Smillie has turned his back on the Kimberley Process, saying it
is no longer working. He has warned that the scheme is close to collapse
because governments and the diamond industry are failing to act against
gross human rights violations.Civil society organisations have
previously raised questions about the body's ability to deal with the
smuggling of diamonds in countries like Brazil, Ivory Coast, Venezuela,
Zimbabwe and Guinea. There are already calls to suspend Zimbabwe from the
Kimberly Process, mainly from NGOs, because there are firm suspicions that
illicit diamonds are entering the legitimate trade stream."The clock is
running out on the Kimberley Process credibility," said Annie Dunnebacke
from the London based action group, Global Witness. "It would be scandalous
if uncooperative governments like Zimbabwe in this case, succeeded in
hobbling it into ineffectiveness," Dunnebacke told SW Radio Africa on
Thursday.Dunnebacke continued that the Zimbabwean government cannot keep
hiding the truth about the Marange killings from the Kimberley Process,
which is set to send a review team to Zimbabwe next week."This is a very
concerning move by the Zimbabwe government," Dunnebacke said. "We are
concerned that the review team sent by the Kimberly Process might not be
given full access to the areas they need to visit and the people they need
to speak to.""We are urging the government to reveal the truth about what
has happened there, so that the rectification of human rights violations can
begin," Dunnebacke added.

ZANU
PF Supporters Confiscate Tsvangirai's Newsletter

MASVINGO, June 25 2009
- Hordes of ZANU PF supporters who were in a party vehicle descended upon
two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters who were distributing
Prime Minister and party leader Morgan Tsvangirai's newsletter and
confiscated it.

RadioVOP witnessed the incident on Thursday
afternoon along Robert Mugabe way in the city center, near
Zimbank.

The militia, who were putting on ZANU PF regalia,
abruptly stopped the car and jumped out before snatching the Newsletter from
the unnoticing MDC supporters, and sped away.

The youths
were numbering about ten. RadioVOP failed to get the registration number of
the vehicle as the incident happened quickly.

"This is bad.
They accuse MDC of being violent, but look what did they just do to us. You
are journalists, you have seen it for yourselves," said Kennias Munanga, an
MDC activist who was also distributing the newsletter to hundreds of rural
teachers who were queuing for their salaries.

His colleague,
Edmore Chirichoga, said they were going to make a police
report.

"They should know that we are also ruling, our party
leader is the prime minister. We are going to make a police report and we
want to see what the police will do with this issue. After all, what we were
doing is legal as we want to inform the public about what really is going on
with the PM's tour, not the lies they get from the state media," he
said.

ZANU PF provincial chairman, Lovemore Matuke, who
professed ignorance over the matter, however blasted the 'naïve youths' for
such 'intolerance'.

"I will investigate the matter, but I think
if it is true, then those youths are naïve and still have a hangover because
we are now in an inclusive government which calls for tolerance," said
Matuke, a former Gutu Central legislator.

The newsletter,
published by the office of the PM, which was criticized by Information and
Publicity secretary and Mugabe's spokesperson, George Charamba, has hit the
streets once again where it has proved to be popular with the
people.

It had a screaming headline, 'EU salutes Tsvangirai'
with a picture of the PM and Vice Chancellor Angela Merkel inspecting a
guard of honour in Berlin, something which could have irked ZANU PF, given
that the liberation party has no official mouthpiece of late following the
closure of its publication, The Voice.

The Voice last hit
the streets in February and since then it has never published due to
viability problems.

USAID
giving $1 million to project for southern Africa's disaster-stricken Zambezi
River basin

MICHELLE THERIAULT | Associated Press Writer 11:03 AM EDT,
June 25, 2009JOHANNESBURG (AP) - The U.S. development agency said Thursday
it has committed $1 million to a project that aims to help people living
along southern Africa's Zambezi River cope with worsening natural disasters
because of climate change.

The Zambezi River flows from Zambia to
Mozambique, passing through places like Botswana and Zimbabwe on its way to
the Indian Ocean.

For the 32 million people who live in the Zambezi's
basin - some of the world's poorest - the river is a source of
transportation, jobs and fertile soil for agriculture. But it also brings
misery with a cycle of flood and drought that displaces hundreds of
thousands of people annually.

Climate change is exacerbating the effects
of an already precarious situation, according to Red Cross disaster
management coordinator Farid Abdulkadir.

"Climate change is real; it
is affecting us in Africa and it will get worse over time," he
said.

This year's flood season was unusually severe: In Namibia alone, 90
people were killed and more than 276,000 were displaced. Growing concern
about the impact of flooding spurred the Red Cross to create the Zambezi
River Basin Initiative.

The Red Cross project will coordinate efforts
in the seven nations that the river winds through - Angola, Botswana,
Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Projects will boost
early warning systems and local training for disaster management, as well
provide funds for malaria, cholera, and HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention
projects.

"You're preparing people to adapt to a situation they have to
live with for many years to come," Abdulkadir said.

It's the right
approach, said Harlan V. Hale, the principal regional adviser for USAID
Southern Africa. The agency's $1 million commitment is the first step in
funding the $8.6 million three-year initiative. Focusing efforts on
prevention and preparedness could save lives, property and disaster response
funds.

"It makes good economic sense in the long run," he
said.

The Red Cross hopes that the initiative will also highlight the
humanitarian impact of climate change in the lead-up to December's climate
accord talks in Copenhagen - an event that will coincide with the beginning
of another flood season along the Zambezi River.

The bad news of a relatively good maize
harvest

JOHANNESBURG , 25 June 2009
(IRIN) - A more than two fold increase in Zimbabwe's production of its staple,
maize, in 2009 will not be enough to rid the country of food insecurity.

A crop report by the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP), released on 25 June,
said: "National production of maize in 2009 is estimated at 1.14 million tons,
an increase of 130 percent on that of the record low harvest of 2008 [471,000
tons]. Total domestic cereal availability for 2009/10 is estimated to be 1.39
million tons."

WFP spokesperson Peter Smerdon told IRIN the maize
harvest "looks very good, but last year was very bad". National food requirement
is around 1.7 million tons.

The increase in maize production is tempered
by the forecast for a winter wheat crop of just 12,000 tons, "the lowest ever
and dramatically down from 242,000 tons in 2006," a consequence of high input
costs, "financial liquidity" problems and intermittent electricity supplies to
power irrigation equipment.

Initial forecasts were that about 2.8
million people would require food assistance by March 2010, a substantial
decrease from the 7 million beneficiaries during the March 2009 "lean season" -
the month prior to the main harvest in April.

Smerdon said 600,000
people were already receiving food assistance as part of WFP's safety net
programme and estimates of those requiring food relief could be revised after
vulnerability assessment in August determines the level of assistance required.

The June 2008 FAO/WFP crop assessment initially forecast that 5.1
million people would require food aid in the first quarter of 2009, but this
number increased to 7 million. A shortfall in donor funding resulted in WFP
reducing cereal rations to 5kg per person - less than half the recommended
monthly minimum of 12kg.

WFP's Jan Delbaere, a co-leader of the crop
assessment mission, said in a statement: "This year's improved harvest comes
after two consecutive years of poor production, having depleted their food
stocks and sold livestock and other assets to cope with the effects of recent
crises, many rural households are still struggling to survive."

Declining population

The crop assessment report
attributed a better maize harvest to "well-distributed rainfall ... in spite of
the fact that inputs such as improved seeds, fertilizer, fuel and draught power
were in short supply and expensive."

"With the total utilization of
cereals at about 2.07 million tons including 1.74 million tons for direct human
consumption for the revised projected population of 11 million, the resulting
cereal import requirement is estimated at 680,000 tons, of which the maize
deficit accounts for about 70 percent," the report said.

Zimbabwe's
population decline from more than 12 million to 11 million was cited as being
caused by HIV/AIDS deaths and a "significant amount of out-migration" caused by
the collapse of the country's economy.

The Central Statistics Office
"accepts a low figure of 350,000 as out-migrants since 2002. On the other hand
the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has been using three million as a planning
figure for the purpose of remittance calculations."

More maize
from less land

The increased maize production was achieved
despite a reduced area under cultivation from 1.7 million hectares in 2008 to
1.4 million in 2009 and "had rainfall this year been similar to that of 2007/08
production might have been disastrously low."

Seed and fertilizer worth US$
31 million were donated by SADC [Southern African Development Community] but in
most areas they were delivered too late for effective use

A limited availability of
agricultural inputs, high costs, late deliveries and the unsuitability of
certain seeds combined to constrain maize production.

"Seed and
fertilizer worth US$ 31 million were donated by SADC [Southern African
Development Community] but in most areas they were delivered too late for
effective use ... [and] was not always the most suitable for the agro-ecological
zones where it was distributed," the report said.

A lack of animal
draught power was also being compounded by food insecurity as livestock was
slaughtered in the wake of the poor 2007/2008 harvest.

"In late 2008
many smallholders sold off their livestock, including cattle, in order to raise
money for food, transport, school fees and other expenses following the poor
main harvest. Undoubtedly some of these cattle were sold to larger farmers
wishing to increase their herd size," the report said.

Among its
recommendations was emergency assistance by both government and the
international community for the delivery of quality seed by September 2009 - a
few months ahead of the planting season. The two UN agencies also called for the
provision of credit lines and contractual guarantees for the purchase of inputs,
the revival of agricultural extension officers and the rehabilitation of
small-scale irrigation schemes.

[ENDS]

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations]

Diasporans Remit More than US$500m'

HARARE, June 24 2009 - Zimbabweans
in the diaspora are remitting between USd600 million and USd1 billion a
year, helping prop up the economy, Economic Planning and Development
Minister Elton Mangoma, has said.

According to reports from
the United Kingdom, Minister Mangoma told the 6th International Mining in
Africa Conference in London on Tuesday that although it was difficult to
quantify inflows from Zimbabweans working abroad, the amount was more than
half a billion dollars.

Minister Mangoma said there were
between three and four million Zimbabweans living outside the country,
mostly in South Africa and Britain.

"It is hard to quantify the
amounts Zimbabweans living in the diaspora send home, but put it at between
US$600 million and US$1 billion a year," he said.

The
swearing-in of a Government of national unity and the foreign currency
market liberalisation helped shore up Zimbabwe's credit lines, allowing
money to flow in and inject life into the economy.

Minister
Mangoma said Zimbabwe now had credit facilities of around US$2 billion,
money that was being poured into retail for restocking of shelves with
goods, into production for raw materials and to an extent into capital
equipment.

"There are people who were sitting on the fence who
are now coming in.

"The stock market in particular has shown
rapid growth, with mining stocks up more than 240 percent since February,"
he said.

He said foreign investors were also looking at
opportunities in the country's mining sector, especially deposits of
platinum, gold and diamonds.

While some had ventured back, Mr
Mangoma said, others were waiting for the strengthening of the legal
framework in the country.

He said the country's economy had
turned around in the past four months, with employment and industrial
capacity use doubling and the once record-breaking inflation was under
control.

He said the recovery followed an effective
dollarisation of the economy, which has helped spur foreign investment and
prompted Zimbabweans in the Diaspora to send more remittances
home.

"When we came into office in February, we had employment
of six percent and capacity utilisation of less than 10 percent," he
said.

"Our production capacity has now gone up to between 20
percent and 30 percent and employment is now around 15 percent, and those
who are employed are a lot more secure because they can see that the
companies are a lot more steady."

Over the same period,
since the formation of the GNU in February, inflation has fallen rapidly
from its once astronomical 200 million percent, while growth has begun to
pick up.

"This year we are looking at growth rates of anything
between three and five percent," said Minister Mangoma.

"From next year onwards, we are looking at double-digit growth from a very
low base. At least for the next 10 years, we can look at double digit Gross
Domestic Product growth rates."

He said the country would
stabilise with an inflation rate of "no more than three percent" by December
adding that this would be a sustained rate.He said interest rates had
come down, with the highest rate at 15 percent and broad borrowing costs at
around 8 percent.

"As the risk factor goes down, the interest
rates will come down with it. So in fact, I don't expect there to be any
pressure on inflation because of interest rates," he said.
(Chronicle)

As
a nation we complain too much and do little

Some
people at Southwark Cathedral shouted down the Prime Minister. Some people
on the internet blogs are saying it sounds in London interviews like he is
being too accommodating to President Mugabe.

They are angry, some even
feeling betrayed. Without doubt, many are true victims and may God bless
them.

But let's be honest with ourselves. If we wanted real dramatic
change, when the election was stolen in 2002 or 2008, then we could have
done what the people in Iran have done.

But we didn't. A few people
like WOZA get arrested time and again for peaceful public activities.
Sometimes NCA does, too. I don't know who else, not many images of
Zimbabweans on the streets protesting their stolen vote.

So I say if we
aren't going to be part of the solution, like the people of Iran, then
really, what good does it do to be part of the problem by picking away at
leaders who have pragmatically committed to reconciliation, including
President Mugabe. Enough already.

Things are not perfect. My friends are
still struggling mightily. 150 days cannot undo 150 months.

When I
hear the heckling I think we are actually saying to the Prime Minister, "I
want the stores empty again, as a matter of principle. And since things
aren't perfect, why not let's close the schools again, until they are. Why?
Because we just think you are being too nice to the President and we all
want to suffer until things are perfect. Perfect or else!"

Friends, we
could have marched through Harare with signs saying "Where is our vote?" We
didn't. I for one was too scared. Now I see on TV every minute these brave
people in Iran. But that is not the path we took, is it? No. We were too
afraid, or too something. I don't know what. We thought somebody would solve
our problem for us. And when they didn't, we started fighting and
finger-pointing amongst ourselves. We never pointed the finger at our own
selves.

Politics in Zimbabwe doesn't need to a zero-sum game. When we,
the people, change the Constitution, it does not have to be Winner-Take-All
like it is now. It can be a proportional representation like in South
Africa. It's better for stability. Worse for accountability. Is anyone
talking about this?

I'm sorry people but it seems like we always are
acting like victims for this reason or that reason. "The old government is
bad", we said. "The new government is bad", some say now.

These
people in London, how rough is life for them there? Maybe that's one reason
they heckled the PM. I bet they don't want to return because they have got
used to being in England. Some might be afraid, true enough, but let's be
honest, it might be expensive but it's an interesting life.

In closing, I
ask these people who fled to the streets of London (who complain to each
other in bars and on safe street corners far from danger) about our leaders
and their cars and so on and so forth, I ask all Zimbabwean citizens with so
many complaints in their mouths - "Where were you on March 30, 2008, or on
March 12, 2002? Were you on the streets?

Right. So, let us try to honour
the spirit of peace and reconciliation and quit being permanent victims.
Yes, we were victims; beaten, tortured, lost our livelihoods, family
members. I write from experience. But for now comrades let's come up with
solutions. I am so tired of hearing people think they can do better than
this govt.

Have
faith in Zimbabwe's resurrection

Tsvangirai's fundraising failures are
already being mocked by his opponents. If he stumbles, the unity government
could implode

Simon Tisdallguardian.co.uk, Thursday 25 June 2009
13.30 BST

In his long years in opposition as leader of the Movement for
Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai was abused, hounded, arrested and
sometimes beaten by officials and security forces acting on orders from the
president, Robert Mugabe. As Zimbabwe's prime minister in a power-sharing
government, Tsvangirai now finds himself obliged to deal face to face with
the man who persecuted him so unceasingly. It has been a "dramatic"
experience, he says.

"It's too early to say I trust him [Mugabe] wholly
but where we differ, we differ respectfully," Tsvangirai said in London this
week. "We meet regularly to discuss government business. I am the last
person to defend his past. But we will work together to improve the country
... The inclusive government gives him an opportunity to restore his legacy
... It's up to him." It was still possible, he said, for Mugabe to make "a
dignified exit".

Tsvangirai's forgiving attitude towards what he called
Zimbabwe's "flamboyant tyranny" has elicited little in the way of reciprocal
magnanimity during his three-week tour of the US and Europe, which ended in
France today. From Germany to the US to Britain, his appeals for aid and
investment met a mixture of suspicion and caution. Most governments, and
many Zimbabwean exiles, continue to question his chances of instituting
genuine democratic reform while Mugabe remains in power.

Gordon Brown
was more encouraging than many when he met Tsvangirai on Monday, pointing to
"great signs of progress" and adding £5m to the £15m in humanitarian aid
pledged in April. "We are prepared to go further in offering more
transitional support if the reform programme on the ground gains momentum,"
Brown said. But like other European leaders, he warned that Britain would
not turn a blind eye to continuing human rights abuses, corruption,
arbitrary arrests and farm seizures.

"It [the power-sharing government]
is beginning to work, although there are plenty of pitfalls. Mr Mugabe could
easily try to go back on his word and grab absolute power again," Mark
Malloch-Brown, Britain's Africa minister, told the Times. Amnesty
International also noted that while political violence had lessened, "the
human rights situation remains fragile and the social and economic situation
is grim".

This wariness is widely shared, as shown by the significant
undershoot in the amount of funds Tsvangirai was able to raise. Before
setting out, MDC officials suggested his target was between $700m and $1bn.
It's estimated that the actual take was closer to $200m, including $73m from
the US. Most of the funding will be disbursed through NGOs or international
agencies rather than sent directly to Tsvangirai's government. All his host
governments seem to have given Tsvangirai the same message: if you want
more, you must do better.

This could turn out to be a tragically
short-sighted approach. Tsvangirai is already being mocked at home by
Zanu-PF opponents and Mugabe toadies for failing to obtain greater western
assistance. This demonstrated both his personal ineffectiveness and his
foolhardiness in asking Zimbabwe's "enemies" for help, they say. The prime
minister has agreed an 18-month timetable for political reform with Mugabe.
But this limited period is becoming the measure of Tsvangirai's ability to
deliver broader, overall economic and social improvements. If he stumbles,
the unity government could implode. And what then?

Tsvangirai appears
more attuned to this danger than some of his western interlocutors, hence
the passionate urgency of his appeals. "Zimbabwe is in a difficult
transition and requires massive moral and material support," he told an
audience at the Chatham House thinktank. "Transitions by their very nature
can be extremely difficult periods in a nation's history ... We have our own
nail-biting challenges as hardliners who realise they are losing their grip
on power play opportunistic games designed to frustrate the national
sentiment."

But his government did not seek to apportion blame, did not
seek retribution and would welcome a process of national reconciliation, he
said. And it had achieved much in a short space of time, including reining
in inflation, reopening schools and hospitals, embarking on constitutional
reform ahead of new elections, and relaxing media controls.

"I am
aware that suspicions abound as to whether the country is likely to slide
back in to the past once our former adversaries garner sufficient breathing
space," he said. But a permanent, transformational shift was under way. "As
a society, we were near death, and we have come back to life." Setting aside
the past, Britain and the west should have faith in this resurrection.

Tsvangirai's ambiguous
trip

In the end he arrived in the West's
capitals like a collection of many personalities: The messenger, the
fledgling diplomat, the suffering leader-turned-prime minister, the widower,
the money-raiser, the prophet of hope sailing on rough seas of scepticism.
In a packed week, Morgan Tsvangirai was greeted in Washington, Oslo,
Stockholm, Berlin, Brussels like the acceptable face of a country one
remembers for the wrong reasons. US President Barack Obama greeted him in
the Oval Office and for the first time in a long, long time the sight of the
Zimbabwean flag placed by a podium in close proximity to the host's stars
and stripes seemed to say - yes, the broken country is on its way to being
mended. After all here is a man who has known beatings and jail standing
next to President Obama, next to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and
putting his country's case to the world. Surely something is going to
give?

But as usual, views about Mr Tsvangirai remained polarised: Is
he raising money for his Movement of Democratic Change party or the people
of Zimbabwe? Is he in charge or is the old man, President Robert Mugabe,
above him the new puppeteer? Why is he being treated like a long lost
relative by these people who have banned President Mugabe's cabinet from
travelling? Why is he being saluted by the German defence forces as if he is
the head of state? How much is all of this costing? The questions were all
over the place. And depending on the answers you were looking for it was
agreed that the man who entered into a pact with the people who once beat
him, refused to salute him and killed hundreds of his supporters had gone
through a kind of practical conversion in order for his broken country to be
mended.

There was no time to dwell on the gruesome details of the
past. All the world needed to know was that Zimbabwe was now stable - there
is food in the shops, the 500bn% inflation has vanished like a witch in the
night to leave 3% as the shining new number. And the 100 trillion Zimbabwe
dollar note can be found in wallets from Harare to Helsinki only as
souvenirs of the kind of figures which give calculators a heart attack. But
as soon the wandering prophet paints this version of peace, unity and
development, Amnesty International lands in Zimbabwe and says the picture on
his canvas is pure fiction: Human rights are still precarious; citizens are
still living in fear; the poor have no real hope of laying their hands on
scarce foreign currency, which is the only currency in circulation. That
freedom of expression and the right to protest is tied to police beatings
and that human rights defenders, including journalists and lawyers, continue
to be intimidated, harassed, threatened and charged.

And,
tellingly, that the sweet words which laid the foundation for the unity
government had not been followed by action. "The government must give as
much attention to securing human rights reforms as they are to seeking
economic reforms," Irene Khan, secretary general of Amnesty International
said. And behold the miracle of miracles - she was saying this in a Harare
press conference. Surely change is in the air? Then the wandering prophet
arrived in London. The thousands of exiled Zimbabweans who gathered to hear
from the man they have only seen on news footage fighting enormous demons in
a political life that required courage and tenacity focussed their mobile
phone cameras on him. They were like music lovers at a pop concert
committing a star to memory. But when he uttered those words, "It is time to
go home", the crowd turned against Prime Minister Tsvangirai and shouted
their disapproval. "Not yet," they said. "Mugabe must go!"

They
wondered how they could return to a country with no jobs, how they could
uproot their children from this exiled life to a life of uncertainty and
fear. Now, I've never understood this need for asylum, and perhaps I'm
lucky, but I go in and out of my home country as often as the pennies
permit. But there are thousands who say they fled to the United Kingdom in
search of asylum from rape, torture and persecution. So the prime minister's
words were in one stroke killing the legitimacy of their status. "I am not
saying you have to leave today," said the prime minister. "But you should
start thinking about it." They did not seem convinced. They said he was
speaking just like Mugabe and heckled and booed him so much that his Moses
speech to the exiled children of the broken country had to be cut short.
Somewhere in a presidential residence in Harare, a man may have seen the
prime minister's week on the news, and smiled.